


Promised Land - Chapter 9 In the pale moonlight

by Adherentnerdhi



Series: Promised Land [9]
Category: Orphan Black (TV), X Company (TV)
Genre: F/F, Flashbacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-03-06
Packaged: 2018-09-28 14:49:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10120406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adherentnerdhi/pseuds/Adherentnerdhi
Summary: Delphine’s flash back while she was sending Cosima to the safe rendez-vous point on the island of Dr Moreau, the memories in Frankfurt had haunted her.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to crookedarrows2 for English and JanGoo for French, and Sandra for German, I didn't mean to be that complicated, but...  
> And thanks to lesbian_geek_spiral for the inspiration of Aurora/Delphine talks, and always being supportive.

Chapter 9 In the pale moonlight  
  
A few months ago, on the DYAD jet from Toronto to Frankfurt, Delphine maintained her elegance and manners to the crew and staff when boarding the plane under guardianship. She thought that there was no need to argue with these pawns and muscles. Though, this LEDA project supervisor was not sure that she could survive on this flight if any of the cabin staff were an assassin. Rachel tried to make her buy Leekie’s cause of death, even Delphine had no reasons to be convinced. It was not so evident but, plausible that Delphine might have to face the same fate. Luckily Dr Cormier had foreseen this situation, hence, she had hidden some water and food in her package. Because avoiding the nutrition supply on this plane would be a wise choice, at least for now. As a physician, she knew that life was so easy to be taken, it was just the last straw she could grab on this plane. After all, reducing the odds of dangers would hurt less.

The light was dim, Delphine tried to make plans in her heart, though she very much wanted to write to Cosima to express all of her emotions for her. For both of them, it was still too dangerous to do any obvious gestures under the watch of spies. Before the Lilloise was suspended to say goodbye to Cosima in person, she managed to text to her girlfriend: “It’s up to you now.” 

“Clever as Cosima, certainly the American scientist would figure out the idea why Delphine sent Rachel’s schedule to her,” the blonde scientist hoped so, at least. 

“Ave Maria, please don’t let Cosima die, and please let her save other clones,” even if she hasn’t gone to not a necessary description church for a while, now only she could do now, was desperately pray. Delphine clearly knew that she had to face more dangers from Rachel Duncan who could jeopardize her cure plan for the sick Californian clone in any moment.There was the absence of Aldous Leekie who didn’t carry most crimes from Dr Cormier’s viewpoint, because he genuinely cared about the health of clones as a biologist. Therefore the French doctor seemed had less leverage than ever. The former director of DYAD involved less personal emotions with the LEDA clones. This white old man was unlike the iced queen successor, who expressed her business concerns as well as her jealousness of what Alison, Cosima, and Sarah, especially that punky clone could have -- the motherhood. Yet to save her girlfriend, the French immunologist had to build the walls to protect themselves, with all the means she needed to take. What Delphine didn’t know was that Marion Bowels was already making some plans to welcome her in Frankfurt, when the plane flew over the British Isles.

She could feel the plane’s descending. The story behind building Frankfurt airport reminded her of her grandmother maternal, Aurora.

This airport was built by the Nazi Germany in 1944 as a military use, In 2005, it had become civil use. When the Nazis were in the difficult time of war, they resettled 1,767 Hungarian Jewish women aged from 13 to 45 years old in Walldorf. They built the first aircraft cement runway in four months. Only 330 of them survived, because the large part died from lacking of nutrition and were forced to transport 50 kg of sands, gravels and packs of concrete without adequate tools daily.

Her grandmother’s maiden name was Luft, and was a French-Canadian and German-Jewish by blood. Delphine was Aurora’s youngest granddaughter. Aurora was a correspondent journalist in Paris before World War II, later she had become an Allied field agent in Europe. In Delphine’s childhood, Aurora rarely talked about what she had done during wartime, partly of laws, partly of the wounds. However, her granddaughter did know that her elegant grandmother fought the Nazis. That’s why Frankfurt reminded her of her mémé.

“Dr Cormier, good morning, we have landed at the Frankfurt airport. Our cabin chief, Miss Wells will accompany you to our DYAD local staff. And from there, they will arrange your transportation and accommodations. I hope you enjoyed our service.” Captain Lumière addressed to their passenger politely. Delphine appreciated their ride and service half-heartedly with a distant smile.

It was a benefit to take the private jet, from the plane to the arrival only took her 20 minutes. Miss Wells introduced her to their DYAD local personnel, Ina Meyer. With the red neat bun on her head and in a conservative power suit, Meyer greeted Delphine in a crispy German accent, “Good morning! Dr Cormier, Welcome to Frankfurt, I hope you had rested well on the plane.”

“Guten Morgen, Frau Meyer.” Delphine politely smiled back. _(Good morning, Miss Meyer)_

“Dr Cormier, your German accent is very elegant. Here’s a bit chilly at this hour. Shall we board in the car first?” Ina grinned friendly and pointed a direction to a limousine. The French scientist could see that the chauffeur was putting Delphine’s luggage in the back trunk, then walked to hold the car door for their passenger.

“Thank you, Miss Meyer! Please lead on.” Delphine had a weird hunch that it was a normal strategy to send her away on a private jet to avoid her escape. Since Rachel probably could use her to develop the genetic diseases for LEDA clones, it was not necessary to kill her. Besides Nealon, she and Cosima were the ones who held the most information regarding LEDA cures. Even so, the reception in Frankfurt was still a bit overwhelmed for her. Delphine was from a French grande-bourgeoise family where money was not really a big issue to her. Yet she knew this level of reception in DYAD hierarchy system could still be too much for her level of clearance, even she was the head of LEDA project now.

The French woman looked out the windows of the luxury car, and wondered. Even in the morning sunshine, Frankfurt looked still like a grey city. The sunlight reflected in the glass walls of terminals, and glared into the French doctor’s eyes. The northern sun rose a bit later than in Toronto, but almost in the same time as her hometown, Lille. Dr Cormier put up together and gave her attention to her present company.

After Ina sat in the seat diagonal to Delphine’s, the chauffeur started the engines and drove them to the hotel. On the highway, Ina briefed about herself: “Mme Bowles sent me to be your assistant in Europe, this is her personal limo. She wanted me to express her apologies that she could not talk to you in person here, because she is still in Canada to handle other DYAD business. She let me arrange a meeting for you both the day after tomorrow. Before that, she instructed me to set the Skype call to her when you are in the car.” 

Ina unlocked the iPad, talked to the person in the tablet: “Good evening, Mme Bowles, I have Dr Cormier here to speak to you.” Then set the retina on the stand in front of Delphine.

“Good morning! Dr Cormier, I hope the long flight was enjoyable for you enough. I am Marion Bowles, we have met on the DYAD event a few weeks ago and in Aldous’ office.” The British greeted the French with a kind accent echoing in the car.

“Good evening, Mme Bowles, yes I remember you.” Delphine barely knew Marion in person, but she understood her liaisons with the Topside and Dr Leekie, and Charlotte was the youngest LEDA adopted by her. It was a benefit to devote her first career years to express the loyalty to Leekie to obtain related information.

“Oh, please, just call me Marion.” The head of DYAD board tried to ease the mood in air, with a cheerful smile.

“Dr Delphine Cormier, I am here on behalf of DYAD institute to inform orally that you’re now pointed as the new director of DYAD by the board. There are some grave business going on in Canada. But before you return to Canada, I have something that requires your capability to execute in Europe. And I will personally bring you the legal contract and confidentiality when I meet you.” Marion addressed to Delphine in an official voice.

“Yes, Marion, how may I be at your service? And from what I knew that Rachel Duncan was the director, may I know what happened to her? Why am I designated in this position?” Delphine replied politely yet curiously with a surprising voice.

“Oh, so you clearly weren’t informed of the current status of Rachel?” Marion looked her into those hazel eyes, without anger or threats, just like all the British, who kept calm and carried on, no matter what. 

“Sit tight, some information would be easily acquired even via the secured lines. So I prefer to talk to you and discuss these urgent matters in person. Wolfgang and Ina will take you safely to your hotel room, and your apartment will be prepared by tomorrow. I am sorry that your departure from Toronto was all of a sudden. Though, Ina is very capable and considerate, she still needs sometime to rearrange the suitable apartment for you. Regarding your positions changed so fast in our institute, especially in the past few hours, she has done it as fast as possible. Please forgive us for any inconvenience and unthoughtfulness. I don’t want you to be exhausted, because we still have too many things to take care of, besides Rachel. Please do enjoy yourself. Ina will give you the information you need. Today is an extra day off for you. Good day!”

“Good day, Marion!” Nodded Delphine. 

“NO SIGNAL” then the retina showed. Ina took the iPad back to her business caban. The French scientist certainly had no idea about Marion as foe or friend, probably as always, just another frenemy. For now, if possible, she could use some sleep in the hotel and freshen up a bit. At least for this hour, she was still alive.

Ina informed the hotel porter to take Delphine’s baggage to her suite, and offered the help to carry her laptop bag. The French doctor turned down her offer with appreciation, “Danke, Ina, I can take care of this on my own.” 

The red-cap was planning to go to their own working ones, but Delphine asked his manager in German for the permission to go with them. The blonde doctor didn’t want to leave her belongings out of her sight.

“Selbstverständlich, wie Sie wünschen, Frau Cormier.” The lobby manager granted, though it wasn’t a normal request. _(Yes, as you wish, Mme Cormier.)_

Delphine spoke lots of European languages, with accent, but her perfect grammar was from her education in boarding school. She certainly knew that she could just speak English or French, because staff in hotels at this rank usually were capable multi-linguals. She was kind of testing the expression on Ina’s face while she listened to her German. This intention was in order to send them a message that it was useless to speak German in front of her if they tried to fool her.

There was just normal awkwardness between them in the lift as usual among barely strangers. Delphine was staring at the floor monitor, also glanced the glass walls of the machine they were in. It was just another day she had to face, life and death. Not so close, but never far away, but she knew that staying in such high alert for a long time would be bad for her health. She kept her calmness and planned for next steps. At present, science was her weapon.

“Danke, Petr,” before Delphine reached her own pocket in front of the door of her hotel room DYAD prepared for her, Ina already tipped the red-cap well. The boy’s fingers reached his own uniform cap to the ladies and departed to the exit where he left the luggage in the suite’s entrance. _(Thanks, Petr)_

“Very good, Dr Cormier, I’ll let you rest. All the mini bar and room service are all convenient for you, the bill will be on the institute. I’ll pick you up here to our institute by 10AM tomorrow morning, before that you can adjust your jet lag.” The red-haired gave her new boss a wide professional smile. 

“Here’s the company phone, direct line with some essential numbers, like our institute, Mme Marion Bowles, Wolfgang’s, and mine, of course, in case you want to contact any of us.” She handed Delphine a mobile phone. 

There was also another envelope with the mark of DYAD and address in German, and Ina opened it to show her boss: “Inside the envelope are some Euros and the company credit card, which we prepare for our supervisors and chiefs for them per diem here. But after tomorrow, we will arrange your personal account if you want one. Also here’s the guidebook of the city and map from your apartment to the institute. Your transportation will be arranged by Johannes. He will join us to your office tomorrow. Wolfgang is the private chauffer of Mme Bowles, so he was just on her behalf to take you here. Feel free to be here, and welcome again.”

“Thank you! Ina. That’s very thoughtful.” Delphine replied professionally.

“Then I’ll leave you to rest, Dr Cormier, have a nice day.” nodded Ina and found her own way out.

 

During the shower, Delphine could not stop thinking about Cosima. She missed her lips, toothy smile, eyeliner, her ears, the texture of her dreads, her arms and her tiny body, the touch from her hands. 

Was her girlfriend still alive? Were Sarah’s ovaries still attached in her body? Did she manage to make a difference? From the foggy mirror, she dried her hair. Yeah, perhaps she could use some family support and see how was her mémé, Aurora, going on. She turned on her laptop and linked to the hotel Wi-Fi with a secured IP. 

“Ma puce! Salut! T’es encore à Toronto?” An old lady with silver curls appeared on the window of Skype. _(My sweetheart! How’re you? Still in Toronto?)_

“Mémé! Tu me manques! Non, je suis à Francfort. L’institut m’a envoyée ici.” Delphine replied. _(Granny! I miss you! No, I am in Frankfurt. The institute reassigned me here. )_

“Oh! You didn’t have time to come over to say goodbye to me?” Aurora lifted her own reading glasses with her right index finger. “Are you alright? Ma puce. You’re not in trouble, are you?”

Delphine bited her lips.

“Non… Mémé!” Delphine hesitated. _(No, granny!)_

“You know, you can tell me anything, right? Je suis là pour toi, tu sais!” Aurora started worried for her granddaughter. _(I am here for you, you know!)_

“Mémé! Ma copine, Cosima, est mourante, et je n’ai pas le droit de l’accompagner parce la directrice nous a séparées...” Delphine sniffed. _(Granny! My girlfriend, Cosima is dying, and I am forbidden to be staying with her, because our boss separated us.)_

“Oh, that sweet American girl?” Aurora replied with a surprising tone. 

“Tell me everything, sweetheart!” Aurora knew that listening will help her beautiful granddaughter to calm down, this young woman has always been very reasonable and brilliant, but as human, she might only cry in front of her Canadian mémé. She could release her grandkid restrains and pain. 

Delphine started narrating Rachel’s plans to other clones, even these projects are highly classified, and she might be monitored. However, her elder brother Jean-Paul taught her the trick to bypass those internet risk, and built her a highly-secured firewall on her communication devices so that she could talk freely with her family.

Even in her nineties, with technology support, Aurora really could hear her granddaughter's voice clearly.

“Tu te souviens l’histoire que je t’ai racontée quand tu m’avais dis que tu étais tombée amoureuse de Cosima?” Aurora chose the words carefully to reply Delphine, and seemed to fall in the past. _(Do you remember the story I told you when you told me about that you has fallen for Cosima?)_

“Laquelle?” replied Delphine while wiping out her own tears. _(Which one?)_

“I fell in love with a German woman, whose name was Sabine, when I worked as undercover agent for the Allied during World War II,” Aurora narrated it fearless with an honest voice. “But we were on the different sides of war, our countries were at war. Yet there were lots of moments she and I both knew that our friendship was genuine, and probably more beyond that. So, when you decided to tell me your relationship with Cosima, I was and am really happy for you, ma puce. No matter what, a clone woman is still a human being, even your love will be scolded for you sitting on the different sides of science fence. And it is not every day that you could have met someone who could chat with you about everything. Ta Mémé, moi, I love you, but I can’t understand a thing of your science field. Plus even my affections to your grandfather Alfred, were once forbidden too. ” 

“Je me souviens Sabine, oui, mémé.” Delphine remembered that day after Eskimo pie in bed with Cosima in Minneapolis, her mémé called her in the morning when she was writing the field observation log to report to Leekie. She told her about her fabulous date, Cosima. Then Aurora encouraged her for their relationship. And she told Delphine that it was what it was, and her story with Sabine. She blessed her granddaughter with no regrets in life.

“Ben, c’est bien. Alors, with my missions,” Aurora cleared her throat and continued. “I needed to go inside the heart of the Nazi Germany. I hated my undercover, I was dreaming in German those days, but I hated those things. Because, my undercover did something I would never think in my life, but I had to do it for the great picture. I might be sometimes out of trajectory, but I never forgot the great picture ahead of us. Then I might lose the battles, I might have to kill someone mercifully, unwillingly, or in the end lost a piece of my soul. I think, it’s worthy. If we could foresee a greater picture there. You are in a war, a dangerous business. You have someone that you want to protect, that is good. But, please, stay alive as long as you can. Tu me manques tellement aussi, tu sais.” _(I miss you very much too, you know.)_

“Oui, mémé! je t’embrasse, et merci. Je te rappelerai bientôt!” Delphine sent her kisses to the other side of screen. _(Yes, granny, kisses, and thank you, I will call you soon.)_

“Bisous, ma puce, à bientôt!” Aurora off-lined. _(Kisses, my sweetheart, see you soon.)_

After talking to her grandmother, Delphine felt better. She had always worshiped Aurora, and grew up with her heroic stories. She has been always her inspiration. She decided to order a crêpe and maple syrup with a cup of café au lait which always helped her mood and energy. Even she had to dance with the enemy, she needed to take care of herself too.


End file.
